Tuesday, 9 September 2014

Melvita 'Universal Cream'* - Review

Melvita is a brand that I've tried various miniatures and samples of, before, and have really really loved so when I got the chance to review their new 'Universal Cream' I was so pleased.

I was even more pleased when it arrived along side an incredibly cute story book to explain the story behind the accompanying characters 'Belle and the bee'. It all fits beautifully with the feel of the product and the idea that it's suitable for the whole family.

There's 100ml of product in the tin (which costs £15) and the cream, which contains beeswax, is colourless and incredibly light, it almost feels whipped and thankfully that doesn't change when it's on the skin. When you rub it in it disappears almost instantly and leaves nothing behind other than the lovely scent (which I'll talk more about later) and softer skin.

The cream is multi-purpose and I can see why, it's not too heavy for the face but it's also good enough to moisturise some of the tougher areas of the body too. I'm a big big fan of multi-purpose products so this fits in really well with my regime; it's the sort of product that I'll be keeping on out, in my vanity area, to grab whenever I need some extra moisture. It'll also be perfect for travel as it'll cater for so many different parts of the body.

I was instantly drawn in by the scent of this product. It contains two melliferous flowers, Elderberry flower and Meadowsweet which work so beautifully together. The scent is very subtle, so if you don't like strong smells you might be ok with this one - The softer scent also makes it easier to use on the face, a stronger smelling product is the sort of thing that'll put me off. The best way I can describe the smell is slightly floral, sweet and a little fruity which comes together as a scent that's almost like a really subtle candy scent which is amazing considering the ingredients are natural.

As well as being multi-purpose, the cream is also suitable for the whole family (from 3yrs+) which I thought was fantastic - I love it when a product brings together the beauty and the family sides of my blog! Ethan's quite fond of using my products, too, I often do my makeup downstairs so he's watched me do it plenty of times and it's made him a little obsessed. As such, the chance for me to use one of my creams on him is something he gets rather excited over - There's already a few products which get used for both of us and now this can be one of them (though I'm sure he doesn't appreciate the scent as much as I do)

He was equally as excited to see that a story book arrived with the cream and I think that the story would be loved by adults and children alike.

The story is about Belle, who lives in Paris, and who loves the city. We follow Belle as she goes on holiday to the country and is gifted a beautiful, restored bike (which once belonged to her Mum) by her Grandfather and then goes on adventures out in the country.

When she gets lost in the woods Belle meets a bee, surprisingly it's a talking bee who takes her on a journey and shows her the jobs that he, and other aspects of nature do, to keep everything balanced - Including using the petals of an arnica plant to make her knees better after she falls off her bike.

The story was beautiful and the illustrations so very sweet - It's inspired by the true story of the biologist Bernard Chevalliar who, at the age of 25, moved to the country and started a beekeeping farm with his brother. He was inspired by the bee and 'how nature can help us lead a healthy and happy life.' Later, in 1983 (just three years before I was born!) he founded Melvita which he cultivated to be passionate about respecting nature and protecting the environment.

It was just lovely to learn some more about the roots of Melvita (no pun intended) and Ethan and I loved reading the story together - He loved the pictures when he looked through it on his own, too.

The cream is just fantastic and the book was delightful so it's been an absolute joy to review this product for Melvita; it has definitely cemented what I, originally, felt about this fantastic, natural brand.

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*This product was sent to me for the purpose of review but all opinions are honest and entirely my own*